Acer Liquid Jade Primo review: Windows Prime

Introduction

Windows phone models aren't that many, which makes sense as the platforms has a market share of less than 2%. Among those phone models, the ones which are not made by Microsoft, are few and far between. So the Acer Liquid Jade Primo is a specimen of a rare breed.

The Acer Liquid Jade Primo is a flagship-grade device, up there with Microsoft's own Lumia 950. And just like Microsoft took its time with coming up with a smartphone (okay, two) to fly the Windows 10 banner, Acer has been in no rush to release the Jade Primo - announced at last year's IFA in September, it's yet to make it to the shelves but yes, we've got one early. This might explain why the Primo uses last year's Snapdragon 808 as opposed to the more current Snapdragon 820. Have no worries, Windows 10 has been known to cruise on even Snapdragon 2xx, so we expect nothing but a smooth sailing.

The Liquid Jade Primo comes with an 5.5-inch AMOLED screen - arguably the best display tech for the Windows black backgrounds. Unlike the high-end Lumias, resolution has been kept at a conservative 1080p, for better or worse.

You do get Windows Continuum, a properly-equipped 21MP camera with 4K video, an 8MP front shooter (boo, 5MP Lumias!), Wi-Fi ac, USB Type-C connectivity - pretty much everything but the kitchen sink. Okay, unless you want to swap batteries and unlock with a fingerprint reader - those particular features are a no-go.

Acer Liquid Jade Primo key features

• Windows 10 Mobile with Continuum support (requires the Acer D01 dock)
• 5.5" Full HD AMOLED display with 401ppi; Gorilla Glass 3
• Snapdragon 808: hexa-core processor with 2x 1.82GHz Cortex-A57 and 4x 1.44GHz Cortex -A53, Adreno 418 GPU, 3GB of RAM
• 32GB of built-in storage; expandable via a microSD slot
• 21MP primary camera with f/2.2 aperture, dual-LED flash; 2160p video recording @30 fps, 1080p video recording @ 30 fps
• 8MP front-facing camera with f/2.2 aperture, 1080p@30fps video recording
• Cat. 6 LTE (300/50Mbps); Dual SIM; Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac; Bluetooth 4.0; GPS; USB Type-C port
• Active noise cancellation via dedicated mic
• 2,800mAh battery

Main disadvantages

• No Glance screen
• Non-removable battery, no fast charging either
• No fingerprint reader or iris recognition
• No FM radio

Plenty of affordable midrange Android smartphones come with a fingerprint scanner, but we're yet to see one on a Windows device, so we're not going to hold a grudge with the Jade Primo on this one. Battery capacity raises eyebrows though, even more so when the Lumia 950 did rather poorly with more juice - we'll see whether Acer will be able to pull off a miracle.

Acer Liquid Jade Primo press images

Nevertheless, you're not terribly spoiled for options in the higher-end of the Windows Mobile spectrum, and that might help you look past some (or all) of the Jade Primo's shortcomings. Join us on the following pages to see where they hide.